South Africa’s New Cabinet

On Sunday evening, May 25th, re-elected President Jacob Zuma announced his cabinet appointments. Reaction has been mixed, but there is a growing feeling in the business community that all is not well. Tutwa Senior Associate Mzukisi Qobo and I reflected on the Economic Cluster appointments, and what those mean for economic policy and growth in South Africa. For reasons laid out in our opinion editorial for Business Day newspaper, we are not optimistic. Subsequent feedback on the piece mostly confirmed our views, and in fact added to our pessimism. This is not likely to be a business friendly government; indeed the reverse may be true. We also explored some of the reasons behind this in our pre-elections briefing.